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Topic: THE HISTORY OF ANJUNABEATS (Read 2808 times)

Anjunabeats is the UK’s fastest growing dance label and home to acclaimed producers/DJ’s Above & Beyond (Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness and Paavo Siljamaki) and their many alter egos.

Anjunabeats was formed when Jono Grant and Paavo Siljamaki met at Westminster University and discovered a mutual love of electronic music.

The pair kicked off the label in 2000 with ‘Anjunabeats Volume 1’, a massive club success which instantly ear-pricked the likes of Pete Tong, Paul Oakenfold and Paul van Dyk. The bomb had dropped and the Anjunabeats name was firmly on the map.

Soon afterwards Jono and Paavo became friends with fellow producer Tony McGuinness and together the three went on to form Above & Beyond. When the Above & Beyond remix of Chakra ‘Home’ reached number one in the UK club charts, the trio had many of the world’s leading labels knocking at their door, offering some interesting remix opportunities. The most exciting came from Madonna, who invited the boys to give ‘What It Feels Like For A Girl’ the Above & Beyond treatment.

As Above & Beyond’s profile as artists grew, so did the Anjunabeats label. It provided the perfect outlet for their numerous production projects – Oceanlab, Aalto, Freestate, Nitromethane, POS, Rollerball and Tranquillity Base – and every release was warmly received by elite DJ’s and club-goers across the globe.

More recently, with James Grant on board as A&R and all round bossman, the Anjunabeats collective have been busy signing a series of fresh artists to the label. Rusch and Murray’s much talked about ‘Epic’ – a track made entirely across Internet forums by two producers who’ve never met – was released in late July 2003 (with an Above & Beyond remix to boot) and was heavily supported by the likes of Armin van Buuren and Paul van Dyk. Other new signings have included Finnish trance maestro Super8, Swedish production prodigy ‘Endre’, and Dutch Deep Tech Genius, Stephen J.Kroos.

Talented UK duo Smith & Pledger have also been snapped up by the label, with their November 2003 collaboration with Matt Hardwick released hailed by DJ Magazine as "the biggest instrumental trancer of the year". Meanwhile the follow-up, 'Connected' is lodged in the DJ boxes of Judge Jules and Armin Van Buuren.

In the last eighteen months Anjunabeats has emerged as one of the most influential labels in dance music today, and in response to demand, the label has recently embarked on an Anjunabeats world tour. The tour will showcase Above & Beyond DJ sets / Live, Oceanlab Live with Justine Suissa on vocals and Aalto Live with Paavo Siljamäki and Miika Eloranta, plus DJ sets from the newer Anjunabeats artists... we’ll let these people have the final word:

“I can’t remember my last set that didn’t have an Above & Beyond production in it. They sound great on the radio and rock any dancefloor. I think all the Anjunabeats tunes are in my box at the moment.” – Armin van Buuren

"The future of UK trance" - Judge Jules, Radio 1

“The UK's new trance superstars” – Pete Tong, Radio 1

“Anjunabeats is building an impressive head of steam” – DJ Magazine

“One of the top trance labels out there” – Ferry Corsten

“They are a great team and have released some fantastic tunes” - Paul Van Dyk

If ‘progressive’ means innovation with subtle emotions, I love this style. But it’s true that we all need styles and I like the idea that ‘progressive’ is associated with quality." - Benoit Franquet (Pole Folder)

Above & Beyond have enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of the global dance music scene, culminating in six nominations at this year’s International Dance Music Awards in Miami.

Their current artist album ‘Tri-State’ was rated ‘Brilliant (5/5)’ by DJ Magazine and has been critically acclaimed as one of the stand-out electronic albums of 2006.

The UK’s biggest selling tabloid newspaper The Sun described “Tri-State” as “one of the most original trance albums for years” and it has featured in iTunes’ Top Ten US dance albums for over three months.

As DJ’s Above & Beyond have scooped Radio 1’s Essential Mix Of The Year Award in 2004 and were ranked in the top 20 in DJ Magazine’s latest Top 100 DJ’s poll.

A&B perform regularly at the world’s biggest dance festivals and clubs and are midway through a residency at Cream Amnesia in Ibiza.

Above & Beyond have enjoyed two top 20 hits in the UK - including ‘Satellite’ under their Oceanlab alias - and have remixed the likes of Madonna, Britney Spears and Dido, prompting Radio 1's Pete Tong to describe them as ‘the UK’s new trance superstars’.

Above & Beyond's weekly Trance Around The World radio show has built a fanatical global following on the internet. The show stands at the forefront of trance and has been responsible for breaking many of the scene's biggest records.

The best records from the show and from the trio’s respected Anjunabeats label (If there’s a more on point label we’re yet to find it’ Mixmag) feature in Above & Beyond’s popular ‘Anjunabeats Volume’ compilation series. The latest episode, Anjunabeats Volume Four, was released in July 2006.

have enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of the global dance music scene, culminating in six nominations at this year’s International Dance Music Awards in Miami. Their current artist album ‘Tri-State’ was rated ‘Brilliant (5/5)’ by DJ Magazine and has been critically acclaimed as one of the stand-out electronic albums of 2006. The Sun, the UK’s biggest selling tabloid paper, described ‘Tri-State’ as “one of the most original trance albums for years”, and it has featured in iTunes’ Top Ten US dance albums for over three months.

The album features 13 original songs written by the guys, including the singles Air For Life (winner of Best Underground Dance Track at the 2006 IDMA’s) with Andy Moor, Alone Tonight (‘Incredible’ Mixmag), and Can’t Sleep (5/5 Sureplayer’ DJ Magazine). The 4th single from the album, ‘Good For Me’ features the sublime vocals of Zoe Johnston, known for her work with Faithless and Bent, and will be released later this year.

Above & Beyond - aka Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness and Paavo Siljamäki - first broke on the scene with their remix of Madonna’s ‘What it Feels Like For A Girl’. Madonna liked the remix so much she decided to use it on the video instead of the original ballad. Since then Above & Beyond have added the likes of Dido, Britney and Sarah McLachlan to their remix credits, but it is their solo productions which have really captured the imagination of dance music fans everywhere. “Far From In Love”,“No One On Earth”, the Tri-State singles, and OceanLab “Sky Falls Down” and “Satellite” (UK Top 20) have become sing-a-long anthems the world over, prompting Radio 1's Pete Tong to describe Above & Beyond as ‘the UK’s new trance superstars’.

As DJ’s Above & Beyond have scooped Radio 1’s Essential Mix Of The Year Award in 2004 and were ranked in the top 20 in DJ Magazine’s latest Top 100 DJ’s poll. A&B perform regularly at the world’s biggest dance festivals and clubs and are midway through a residency at Cream Amnesia in Ibiza.Above & Beyond's weekly Trance Around The World radio show has built a fanatical global following on the internet. The show stands at the forefront of trance and has been responsible for breaking many of the scene's biggest records.

The best records from the show and from the trio’s respected Anjunabeats label (‘If there’s a more on point label we’re yet to find it’ Mixmag) feature in Above & Beyond’s popular ‘Anjunabeats Volume’ compilation series. The latest episode, Anjunabeats Volume Four, was released in July 2006.Above & Beyond have also recorded under a number of different aliases including Aalto, Free State, Jono Grant, Nitromethane, Oceanlab, P.O.S and Tranquility Base.

“In only a few years Anjunabeats has established itself as one of the besttrance imprints around. This London label shows it’s all about taking a few riskswithout compromising on quality.” Update Magazine

One of the most exciting releases of 2007 sees Above & Beyond return to the decks for 'Anjunabeats Volume Five'.

Thanks to the sheer quality of their craft, winning Radio 1’s Essential Mix of The Year award, and last year’s debut artist album, ‘Tri-State’ (one of iTunes Top 10 selling dance albums of 2006 and rated “Brilliant *****” by DJ Magazine), Above & Beyond have added legions to their already dedicated fanbase. Now battling away with the PvDs, Tiestos, and Sashas of this world, they’re set to become the true dance stars of the next few years.

‘Anjunabeats Volume 5’ is the next instalment in a series that’s earned its spurs as a ‘must-have’ for any electronic music collection. A standout array of tracks from start to finish, it’s a 2XCD compilation packed full of unreleased exclusives and future anthems, including two brand new tracks from Above & Beyond themselves, under their Tranquility Base guise. Other tracks and remixes include: Maor Levi ‘Shapes’, Purple Mood ‘One Night In Tokyo’, Super8 & Tab ‘Suru’, Mark Pledger vs Super8 & Tab 'Worldwide', Tranquility Base ‘Razorfish’ (Bart Claessen Remix), Above & Beyond ‘Home’ (Above & Beyond Club Mix), and many more.

All preordered CDs will be signed by Jono, Paavo and Tony and will be sent on or before the 17th of May 2007.The compilation will be released on the 21st of May.

The online broadcast of Above & Beyond's popular weekly Trance Around The World radio show is moving to a new Friday evening timeslot. The show is currently broadcast via the Internet on Tuesday evenings, and syndicated via a worldwide network of FM/Satellite stations. With stations such as XM in the US, Radio DEEA in Romania and RMI FM in Poland all broadcasting the show on Friday evenings, the largest proportion of the show's global listenership now hears it on that day. So Above & Beyond have decided to start producing and airing the online broadcast of the show on Fridays, to make sure it captures that Friday feeling.

Above & Beyond's Tony McGuinness said: "With so many of the show's listeners now tuning in on Friday, we wanted to be in a weekend mood when we make the show, which is full of weekend music in any case. Now our European listeners can tune in while they're getting ready to go out on a Friday night, fans in the Americas can listen at work while they're winding down for the weekend, and our far eastern listeners, er, they still have to get up early don't they?!"

Trance Around The World's Friday evening time slot (7-9pm UK) was decided in consultation with Above & Beyond's online community of fans, and the show will continue to be available on playback anytime at www.anjunabeats.com.

To ease the change of date, next week our online listeners will get TWO TATW's. A bonus show ("TATW 169.5") featuring the first two hours of Above & Beyond's recent set in San Juan, Puerto Rico, will air as usual on Tuesday night. TATW 170 will air on Friday night.

Above & Beyond’s Trance Around The World radio show is broadcast weekly in the following countries (local time unless stated) and worldwide via the Internet at www.anjunabeats.com on Fridays (new time tbc) and available on playback anytime: